BRADENTON BEACH, Florida — Amidst the lingering scenes of destruction and devastation, a small semblance of normality returns along some FloridaThe barrier islands that took the brunt of Hurricanes Helene and Milton: A relaxing moment along the sandy beach.

Some of the beaches reopened just two weeks after the hurricane Milton again sent a mile-long, foot-deep swath of the Gulf of Mexico, crushing coastal cities with storm surge. The scars remain – sand covering streets and yards as homes and businesses are either badly damaged or in ruins.

“There’s sand in the water, there’s still some moisture underneath,” FOX Weather said Robert Ray said while showing a damaged house in Bradenton Beach which stood right across from the beach. “There are bugs, (there are) smells.”

In Treasure Island, a pile of debris continues to grow as crews haul damaged property across the island, which now stands 50 feet high and 100 feet in diameter, Ray said.

While piles of debris still await cleanup, homeowners and business owners are still taking the recovery battle to several other heartbreaking and frustrating levels.

“First of all, a lot of people lost their lives. So you can imagine what families and friends are going through,” Ray said. “Secondly, a lot of people lost their homes. Thirdly, businesses are gone…and people are trying to navigate the insurance highway…And the FEMA paperwork and that’s remarkable in its own way.”

Ray said some victims may not be able to rebuild because of insurance, FEMA regulations and building codes.

“And what are they doing? You know, their nest eggs are here,” Ray wondered. “They had flood insurance. Some flood insurance does not actually cover these disasters. So all this gets worse.”

And as recovery efforts are trying to move, there are only so many carriers and so many people to help rebuild happen because of the area and impact of these systems from Florida to the Carolinas.

He says the intricacies are so intense and so long, it’s simply mind-boggling.

“So God bless everybody going through this,” he said.

Meanwhile, the beach can offer a moment of reflection on a much sunnier and quieter day.

“There are some people who are enjoying this peace and that’s what they need to do right now. You need comfort,” Ray said. “You have to sit and watch and reflect. And that’s what’s here for them right now.”